National Pancake Day Recipes: Lemon and Vanilla Bean Pancakes

Source: http://carnaldish.com/recipes/breakfast/fabulously-lazy-lemon-vanilla-bean-pancakes/

Yield: makes 4-6 medium pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup pancake mix (the "just add water" kind)
• 1 vanilla bean
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp lemon zest (or the zest from a half a lemon, you can use the whole lemon, it's up to you)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• water (how much or how little is totally up to you)
• butter
• maple syrup

Instructions

Heat your electric griddle to the highest setting. If you're using a skillet, set the heat to medium.

In a bowl, whisk together the pancake mix, cinnamon and lemon zest.

Take one vanilla bean and split it down the middle with a small, sharp knife. Use the back edge of the knife to scrape the beans out in one smooth stroke motion. vanilla beans are a little sticky so take your time with this if it's your first time working w/ them. A tip: don't throw away the scraped up stalk because you can flavor stuff with it, such as liquors and sugars, etc.

Add the water and vanilla extract and mix until all the ingredients come together. Don't over mix because it will toughen your pancakes, and you want light, fluffy pancakes, right?

Take 1 stick of butter, and peel back the paper about an inch. Draw a circle on your hot griddle and immediately pour the pancake batter on top of it. This gives the pancakes a beautiful golden, buttery color and flavor. I like this method better than just adding butter to the pan because you end up wasting butter and it starts to burn.

Repeat this with every pancake and flip each pancake when you see bubbles. About 2 to 3 minutes. Try to resist the urge to flip it again and again. Unless of course you like a rubbery ass pancake, don't over-handle them. Once they're flipped on their other side, allow it to cook an additional minute or two and bring to a plate.

Stack, add a little more butter, and drizzle warm maple syrup on top.